Judging from what I’ve heard from White House Latin American adviser Mauricio Claver Carone and other officials in recent days, the Trump administration is pretty confident that Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro is increasingly isolated, weakened and on his way out.
Before we get into whether their assessment is realistic, let’s listen to what they are saying.
Claver Carone, whose official title is director of the National Security Council’s Western Hemisphere Affairs office, told me that U.S. economic sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA oil monopoly will cripple the Maduro regime.
